Mantra

I thought I would share my mantra with you:

"Lay aside your fears that I will be undone,
for I shall not be moved." -Maya Angelou

It is from the poem Our Grandmothers by Maya Angelou and it is one of the most moving and inspirational poems I have ever read. The poem tells many different stories of African American women from the times of slavery to the present day. The saying "I shall not be moved" is repeated again and again in the poem, and each time it seems to become more powerful. The poem is really about resistance, resilience and determination.  About a year ago when I was having a difficult day, my sister repeated those words to me and told me to read the poem. Now, when I come across a seemingly insurmountable task or when I feel that I can't overcome certain obstacles I will remember this quote. Another one of my favorite quotes from this poem is,

"When you learn, teach.
When you get, give.
As for me,
I shall not be moved" -Maya Angelou

Speaking of strength, I summoned everything I had this week to write my masters project paper (dramatic much?).  In the instructions on how to write the paper, my professor told us to use "scientific creativity". I don't believe such a thing exists, there is nothing creative about writing a scientific study.  It was miserable.  But we managed to finish our first draft. Now we just have to get through the editing. Here is what my week looked like:

Moby was happy to sit on my all my research articles.

That is Long, my masters project partner and if you can't tell he is watching soccer. 

Bad News Dreams

I just received my "dream sheets" to fill out in PA school. In eight months I will be done with my didactic education and going into clinical rotations for a year. The rotations are mostly all laid out except for two extra specialties that you get to pick. On the dream sheet I have to decide my top three picks for these rotations. Sounds exciting right? Nope, you see all my life I have had this problem where I love and enjoy way more things than life will allow. Going into high school I loved to play tennis, piano, guitar, sing, run, etc. and everyone was always telling me that I have to chose. I hate having to chose. In college I loved to study English, psychology, music, environmental biology, and history. But I had to chose. Then when it came time to applying to medical school, I was taking an mcat prep course and then it hit me that soon I would have to decide what  I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I quickly realized that was not for me. I found out about the PA profession and it had a lot more flexibility. I could change specialties as much as I wanted and still have time for a life. But now they give me a dream sheet and expect to check a box. Well I don't have three dreams...I have hundreds. But I will choose three and I'm sure it will all work out fine. In high school I chose tennis, in college I chose environmental science and now I will chose again, but it will not be without stress and frustration.

Trying to fill out my dream sheet.

Cardiology? Rheumatology? Oncology? Neurology? Dermatology? Endocrinology? Pulmonology?

So many ologys.

Farm Day

This past weekend I got a chance to visit a local homestead with some friends. It is really a magical place. It is called Forgotten Works Garden Gallery. They have a huge garden, orchard, bees and lots of cute farm animals. They also have their own beautiful, sustainable artwork decorating the place. They are currently competing for a small business grant to go towards becoming a fully sustainable living center, a mission very close to my heart. If you want to vote, you can click https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/, log in with your facebook and search Forgotten Works Garden Gallery in Mansfield, Texas.

 Those rosemary bushes smelled like heaven.

I love the dog and chickens in the background.

 

Momma and babies.

Daddy

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Summer Reading

I got a pathetic two week summer break off from school last month and managed to get some much needed reading time. I thought I would let you know about some of the books I read in case you needed some goodreads for the summer. I included the rating I gave it (out of 5 stars) and my favorite quote. My sister definitely deserves two thumbs up for giving me this reading list!

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan-5 stars
My sister told me this book is about sharecropper drama. And if you don't think Mississippi sharecroppers in the 40s had drama, just read this book.
Favorite quote: "I felt a ripple of envy, which I saw echoed on Jamie's face. How simple things were for Henry! How I wished sometimes that I could join him in his stark, right-angled world, where everything was either right or wrong and there was no doubt which was which. What unimaginable luxury, never to wrestle with whether or why, never to lie awake nights wondering what if."

The Girls by Lori Lansens-5 stars
Here is my previous post if you didn't see it.This is my favorite book of all.
Favorite quote: "Rose is still snoring, but it doesn't bother me. It makes me love her more. I love that saying My cup runneth over. That's how I feel about Rose right in this moment. Like I can't even contain my feelings for her. Funny how that happens, that you just feel this intense love for a person because of the way they're snoring. Or the way they say your name."

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst-4 stars
The plot seemed very strange to me, it is about a man who wants to know how his wife died so he sets out on a mission to teach his dog how to talk. But throughout the book the husband tells the story of him and his wife, another great read.
Favorite quote: "Savor it now, the day, the breeze. Run the memory of it over your tongue. Speak it aloud; there's no one listening. Close your eyes and remember the moment, the warm pink life of it...Let it wash over you. It ends soon enough."

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson-3 stars
This is a very suspenseful, mystery about a women who forgets everything when she goes to sleep at night. It is very exciting and you won't be able to put it down. I only gave it three stars because it is mostly dialogue and not a great literary feat.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker-5 stars
A daughter goes searching for her missing father in Burma and discovers his great love story. I also have to say this book made me want to be blind, maybe just temporarily.
Favorite quote: "I speak of a love that brings sight to the blind. Of a love stronger than fear. I speak of a love that breathes meaning into life, that defies the natural laws of deterioration, that causes us to flourish, that knows no bounds. I speak of the triumph of the human spirit over selfishness and death."

Happy Summer!

Vacay

Our trip to Jamaica was incredible. I was definitely not ready to go home. This was our third time in Jamaica and I fell even more in love. I love the people, the culture and it's breathtaking beauty. I couldn't help feeling that I shouldn't be there, it was too beautiful, but I guess that's the preservationist in me.

I spent the majority of my time laying on the beach.

I ate all the jerk chicken and pork I could

We watched a wedding.

Island smile 

My sister and I helped out this bride.

Spurs game

Loving my kindle 

Taylor had the chef make the same cake we had at our wedding (ahhh)

We pulled ourselves away from the beach to climb the Dunn's River Falls in Ochos Rios

Taylor is in the white shirt climbing up the falls

I had to put in this picture of Taylor watching the Spurs game at the airport. I am so proud, he is becoming a bigger fan than me!